In my childhood world
Fairy tales abounded.

Leave your tooth under the pillow
And the tooth fairy will reward you.

"What does the tooth fairy look like?"

Tiny lithe little thing with wings
She'll flit from here to there
So fast you won't see her come or go -
Only see the silver she leaves behind.

I wondered why silver
And not shiny bright gold?

Clean your teeth and get in bed,
Tuck your head under your wings,
Say your prayers and go to sleep.
Father Christmas comes like dreams
When you are fast asleep
Like all good little boys and girls.

I thought you said he comes

Down the chimney?

The Easter Bunny brings the eggs
And puts them at the foot of your bed
In the middle of the night (Again?)
Eggs made of creamy chocolate
Coated in bright silver foil
Some inside a special box.

I was blinded to the logistics
By my love for the chocolate.

A special treat was promised
In my grandma's front room.
I'd been very good it seemed:
Father Christmas, Santa, was coming
Just to see little old me
A treat not everyone would have. 

I sat on grandma's dusty sofa
And screamed my head off!

My uncle Dougie had entered
Dressed in a Santa costume
And wearing a dented face mask.
He had sat on it on the bus
And hadn't seen it was deformed.
Grotesque and frightening.

To calm me he had to take the mask off
And with that the fairy dust
Was blown away, and one by one
Those myths came tumbling down!

Even so, the middle of the night
Can be a very scary place, don't you think?

© Griffonner 2026

Image courtesy of Jonathan Borba